Johnny Jay Huhta Is

Johnny Jay Huhta Is “Back In The Game”

By Eric Peltoniemi

I am often struck by the fact that for every well-known and famous artist in this country (some of whom are not even that talented) there is always another fine artist that few have heard of or is at least off most people’s radar. And it is always a great joy to discover one of those artists.

A few weeks ago, New World Finn editor Gerry Henkel asked me to review a new CD by a veteran rockabilly and country artist of Finnish-American heritage who was “getting back in the game” after a long retirement, Brainerd-area resident Johnny Jay Huhta (for an extensive story on Johnny Jay see the Spring 2006 issue of New World Finn). As a lover of country music who grew up in northern Minnesota (and a traveling musician myself), I have heard many a honky-tonk artist and band in clubs around the country. Most of them only do cover songs. Some are okay and some are good. Some are even great, but hardly any perform much in the way of anything original.

So with those kinds of expectations I plopped Johnny Jay Huhta’s new CD Back in the Game in my player. Much to my surprise what came out of my speakers was wonderful original music by a very experienced and talented country singer and songwriter backed up by one hell of a good band. If had I been born a generation earlier I probably would have known what I was in for as he is a recent inductee into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

The CD has six original compositions and six reinterpretations of some country standards. One of these is the Don Gibson classic “Just One Time”. (You can’t go wrong with a Don Gibson song and Johnny covers it very well.) He also does a nice rendition of the shuffle tune, “Storms Never Last,” written by Jesse Colter (wife of the late Waylon Jennings). Another solid treatment is his take on the immortal Johnny Cash song, “I Still Miss Someone” (I have always thought it is one of the greatest country songs ever written). He also does able interpretations of Delaney & Bonnie’s “Never Ending Song of Love”, “Stop the World and Let Me Off” (associated with Patsy Cline) and Shel Silverstein’s “A Couple More Years” (heard previously from The Statler Brothers, as well as Waylon & Willie).

However, as enjoyable as these performances were, I found myself even more drawn to his six original songs. Johnny Jay Huhta is a damn good songwriter who knows his craft. All of the songs have inventive and sometimes thought-provoking themes and there is no doubt when you hear them that they were inspired by a lifetime of experiences (often learned the hard way). His use of melody and rhyme is skillful, never shallow and always accessible to the listener. The opening track “I Never Did Not Love You” (cleverly playing upon double negatives) sounds like it contains some autobiography while “Chloe” is a classic “what’s-that-woman-up-to” song. “I Think of You” and “Lady Blue” are a pair of reminiscing songs that may look back with longing, but don’t get wallowed down with morose accompaniment. “Too Many Rainy Days” is good old honky-tonk, while “Tiptoe Away” is probably the most inventive song on the CD with the wonderful pictures it paints of lovers stealing off on a summer night.

Huhta’s voice is weathered from the years he’s got under his belt, but it is full of character and the man knows how to phrase and deliver a song. He’s been around and it shows. The backup band is very professional as well. Johnny’s brother, Max Lee, plays phenomenal country lead guitar and brother Mike is the solid anchor on the bass. Max’s son Mark, a songwriter in his own right, plays really nice fills on the lap steel and dobro. Kim Everett provides nice backup vocals and Nashville player Jamie LaRitz crisply rounds things out on keyboards and drums. The Huhta brothers have all shared stages with the likes of Dave Dudley, Sonny James, Ernest Tubb and Jim Reeves over the years, so we are not talking about amateurs here.

So in conclusion, if you are a fan of classic country (I’m not talking about what they try to pass off as country on the radio these days) you will no doubt enjoy this CD. This is real country music and Johnny Jay is the real thing. Welcome back, Johnny Jay!

Johnny Jay Huhta’s CD Back in the Game is available online. Go to Johnny’s website www.johnnyjayhuhta.com and click on the links to the various online stores selling the CD. Also, each song can be purchased individually at Apple iTunes for 99 cents each.

Eric Peltoniemi is a performer, songwriter, music businessman and the head of St. Paul-based Red House Records. His songs have been recorded by numerous musicians, as well as by himself on his two CDs Suomi and Songs Of Sad Laughter and two CDs with the group Trova.

Permission is hereby granted to Duluth Rocked to republish this review on its website.